1. Field
The disclosure relates to a metal-air battery and a method of operating the metal-air battery.
2. Description of the Related Art
Metal-air batteries each include a plurality of metal-air battery cells, and each metal-air battery cell includes a negative electrode capable of intercalating/deintercalating ions and a positive electrode using oxygen included in the air as an active material. Oxygen is introduced from outside the metal-air battery cell and a reduction/oxidation reaction occurs between oxygen and metal ion at the positive electrode while an oxidation/reduction reaction occurs in the metal at the negative electrode. Then, electric energy is obtained from the conversion of chemical energy generated by such reactions. For example, a metal-air battery absorbs oxygen when being discharged and emits oxygen when being charged. As described above, since metal-air batteries use oxygen present in the air, the energy density of the metal-air batteries may be substantially increased. For example, the energy density of metal-air batteries may be several times higher than the energy density of the existing lithium ion batteries.
In addition, since there is a low possibility of metal-air batteries catching on fire due to abnormal high-temperature conditions, metal-air batteries have high stability, and since metal-air batteries are operated by absorbing/discharging oxygen without having to use a heavy metal, metal-air batteries may cause less environmental pollution. Due to such characteristics described above, much research into metal-air batteries is currently being conducted.